#UAE #STEM - The Museum Of The Future, the Emirates’ new global scientific institution, will drive a new ‘Great Arab Minds’ programme to attract extraordinary thinkers in the fields of physics and mathematics, software, data science, economics and higher education and research. The initiative is backed by a AED 100 million ($27m) fund. (The National)

#UAE #funding - Verofax Limited, a ‘Traceability as a Service’ provider that recently joined the Hub71 community in Abu Dhabi, has closed a $1.5 million pre-Series A funding round. The startup uses patented technology incorporating AI, AR and blockchain for asset digitisation and traceability, enabling brands to turn their offline products interactive. (Zawya)

#Saudi #smartcities - An agreement between Tata Communications and Zain KSA aims to bring a smart street lighting solution is for one of the key cities in the kingdom. The companies will also work on smart transport systems and IoT solutions for enabling smart waste handling, smart metering and other smart city use cases. (Gulf Business)

#Saudi #Industry4 - Aramco and Advanced Electronics Company (“AEC”), a SAMI company, are collaborating to promote the localisation of digital businesses in Saudi Arabia and to accelerate the Kingdom’s digital ecosystem development. (Aramco)

#UAE #sport - Technology Innovation Institute (TII), Abu Dhabi’s global cutting-edge research centre, is preparing for its first participation as Team TII EuroRacing in the upcoming Autonomous Challenge @ CES 2022. The inaugural high-speed, head-to-head autonomous racecar competition flags off at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 7th January 2022. (Emirates News Agency)

#Qatar #AVs - The Qatari Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with transport services provider Mowasalat (Karwa) and Qatar Foundation, are running a 10 day trial of an autonomous minibus with zero carbon emissions at Qatar Foundation’s Campus. (The Peninsula)

#Oman #drones - Starting this month, UVL Robotics will provide drone delivery in Oman, servicing Muscat, integrating with a local delivery service. According to reports, the company has also gained permissions to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS.) (DroneLife)

#UAE #NYE - A drone fireworks display conducted as part of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in Ras Al Khaimah has clinched two Guinness World Records titles. (Drone DJ)

#Saudi #Arabic - King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language recently made a deal with THIQAH Business Services to develop applications for the Arabic language by building linguistic data sources and tools for archiving and analysis and making them available to academics and experts. (Arab News)

#World #sentiment - While six in 10 people globally expect AI to revolutionise their daily lives, a majority are concerned about its potential impact on fundamental freedoms and rights, a report by Ipsos for the World Economic Forum showed. Some 80 per cent of respondents in China and Saudi Arabia expected AI to change their lives, but less than half said the same in Canada, Germany, France, the UK and the US. (The National)

#MENA #AItrends - Sid Bhatia, regional vice president, Middle East & Turkey, Dataiku shares some trends we can expect to see in 2022 with Arabian Business. (Arabian Business)

#Iraq #drones - Iraq is in talks to procure new counter-drone systems to protect its airspace, a senior military officer said on Sunday. The country currently uses short-range air defence systems such as the American-made Avenger, and the Russian Pantsir system. (The National)

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